Joseph A. Wright

Joseph Albert Wright (17 April 1810-11 May 1867) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-IN 7) from 4 March 1843 to 3 March 1845 (succeeding Henry S. Lane and preceding Edward W. McGaughey), Governor of Indiana from 5 December 1849 to 12 January 1857 (succeeding Paris C. Dunning and preceding Ashbel P. Willard), and a US Senator from 24 February 1862 to 14 January 1863 (succeeding Jesse D. Bright and preceding David Turpie).

Biography
Joseph Albert Wright was born in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1810, and he moved with his family to Bloomington, Indiana in 1820; he was the brother of US Senator George G. Wright. He became a lawyer in 1829, and he also converted to Methodism; the Methodists supported him, as he strongly supported Sunday School, religious study in public schools, and held his early campaign rallies in Methodist churches. He went on to become a state legislator and then served in the US House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845, as Governor from 1849 to 1857, and as a US Senator from 1862 to 1863. He was known for his opposition to banking, and the General Assembly overrode all of his anti-banking vetoes; he launched legal challenges to the acts, but the Indiana Supreme Court ruled against him. In 1850-51, Wright oversaw the writing of the new state constitution, and he urged its adoption. He was opposed throughout his term by Senator Jesse D. Bright, the leader of the state Democratic Party, and, from 1857 to 1861, he would go on to serve as ambassador to Prussia after leaving the governorship. He openly supported the Union during the American Civil War despite his party affiliation, and he was reappointed to his ambassadorship in 1865. He died in Berlin in 1867.